The Real State of the Union

[Editor’s note: To see a video of Ben Shapiro’s speech below, click here.]

I watched Mitch Daniels’ response to the pathetic state of the union address by Barack Obama – and then I fell asleep. It was boring, uninspiring, and unwatchable.

Here’s what Mitch Daniels should have said.

“Good evening, my fellow Americans. I’m not going to take an hour of your time, or half an hour of your time, or even fifteen minutes of your time. I’m going to take less than ten minutes to explain the state of our union, how we got here, and how we get out.

“My fellow Americans, the state of our union is critical. We are so deeply in debt that within the decade, we will be spending more in interest on the debt than we will on our military budget. That’s just the interest, not the actual debt. By 2015, we will be paying for the entire Chinese military budget, since we owe them so much money. What have we gotten for all this cash? We certainly haven’t gotten jobs – nearly half of all working-age Americans are either unemployed, underemployed, or have dropped out of the labor force entirely. The real unemployment rate is somewhere near 11 percent, not 8.5. The economy, to put it politely, stinks, and we all know it.

“Spending vast quantities of money hasn’t given our children a good education, either. Thanks to the teachers unions, which effectively bribe politicians all over the country to keep bad teachers employed and tenured, American children rank 14th in the industrialized world in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math. There are plenty of jobs available in America, in places like Silicon Valley – but we don’t have enough qualified people to fill them, because our education system has been bought and paid for by the greedy and perverse teachers unions. And while President Obama talks about everybody needing to stay in school and go to college, if our schools are terrible, all we’re doing is prolonging their ignorance.

“And all that money we’re spending isn’t making the world safer, either. China is building up its military. Russia is actively undermining us. Both those countries are extending their spheres of influence in South America. Our allies like Britain and France are rightly angry at us – and our treatment of Israel has been utterly shameful. In the Middle East, Iran is developing nuclear weapons and threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, and we’re pretending that the international community is united behind us, even as Russia and China stonewall all action; Libya and Egypt and Tunis have fallen to Islamists; the Jew-haters in the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have been emboldened; Bashar Assad is murdering his own people en masse; Iraq is spiraling back into chaos; Pakistan is a disaster zone; and in Afghanistan, we’re now negotiating with the same folks we toppled after they provided Osama Bin Laden safe haven. Yes, Bin Laden is dead. But pretending that killing Bin Laden solved the Islamist threat is worse than wrong. It’s reprehensible, because it gives us the same sense of false security that led to 9/11 in the first place. Meanwhile, we slash the military budget.

“And things are slated to get worse. In the next year, if re-elected, President Obama will allow the Bush tax rates to expire; he will vastly increase the burdensome regulations that kill business; Obamacare will kick in, destroying our healthcare system.

“Yes, this is President Obama’s fault. It’s the fault of his radical leftist Democrat allies in the Congress and in the states; it’s the fault of spineless Republicans who cave every time they’re tested.

“But ultimately, this is a republic. We elected these corrupt, incompetent, petty would-be tyrants and appeasers. Want to know why our government is out of control? It’s because for close to a century, we’ve lived out of control. We’ve railed against big spending, unless that spending went to our home district. We’ve bashed Congress, then sent the same corrupt and useless officials back to Washington, D.C. We’ve talked about entrepreneurialism, then given the green light to labor unions that stifle innovation, regulators who protect us against a booming economy, and legislators who make their living by pandering to those who don’t work or pay taxes in the first place. We’ve claimed that we care about a moral foreign policy, then shied away from victory. Worst of all, we’ve pretended to care about the Constitution, then called for a government that ignores all Constitutional restraints in the name of “getting things done.” And the “things” our government gets done have cut the heart out of American liberty.

The real state of the union is that "this union" now is no different than the former soviet union: at least in the behavior of the so called "congress".

It is enough to mention the ugly standing ovation of all the 535 scoundrels of the "US congress" performed in a paroxysm of enthusiasm! The standing ovation – for the notorious thief, forger and impostor Obama/Soetoro! The standing ovation of the so called "both sides of the aisle" of the one criminal enterprise. May God curse each and every of you who stood up, you filthy stinking senators and congressmen! Pox on your houses!!!

Questions

Wouldn't you be happier living somewhere else? It wouldn't pain me too much if you moved.

baggy

vote Ron Paul ppl

BIG IRISH

great stuff as usual Ben!!!…keep it up!…and pls get that useless fraud out of the White House!

Danny

"….for close to a century, we’ve [actually you've] lived out of control. We’ve [actually you've] railed against big spending, unless that spending went to our home district. We’ve [actually you've] …. sent the same corrupt and useless officials back to Washington, D.C. We’ve [actually you've] …. given the green light to labor unions that stifle innovation, regulators who protect us against a booming economy, and legislators who make their living by pandering to those who don’t work or pay taxes in the first place. We’ve [actually you've] …. shied away from victory. Worst of all, we’ve [actually you've] …. called for a government that ignores all Constitutional restraints in the name of “getting things done.”"

and a few paragraphs later:

"We will not be talked down to; we vow not to heed the words of the so-called experts who expect us to defer to their superior knowledge."

Ben Shapiro's speech is dead on. It is short and sweet. There is no doubt that he details the failures of this administration in words we all can understand. Considering how slow this electorate is, this is what the Republican candidates should be talking about instead of beating up on one another.

maria

To Alexander Gofen:
I am originally from the USSR. I witness that US for the last year especially for BHO reign looks more and more as a former USSR. Democratic party use the same ideology as Communists party there, the same tactic to fool people. Socializm is a dictatorship and BHO and his accomplieces want power for ever as it was in USSR.
i am scarry to death watching this process.

maria

The article is brilliant. The politicians, mostly Democrats bought people using tax-payers money not their own. They try to make us addicted using it as a drug dealers and too many became "free money addicted". Though in past it was nation with common sence and people understand that there can not be free lunch, that freedom means responsibility. BHO lies all time he open his mouth. The mainstream media support him to destroy this country and crippling Islamization is such obvious… The Leader of Russian October revolution which gave birth to monthtrous state USSR V.Lenin described "Big Labor" as school of communism. It is so plus Big Labor has tight link to mafia. How such a great nation allowed all of this happened? We should be proactive. Dems used mobs "Occupy WS" kind of Germany black shirts movement to unlash riot if we will not follow as sheeps and it will be some threat for BHO re-election.
Problem that we are not organized.